Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain (Nonesuch)

Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain (Nonesuch)

Written and recorded in the three years that have passed since he quietly married Mexican musician and engineer Corina Escamilla Figueroa, Upside Down Mountain finds Conor Oberst trading bombast for nuance, and white-knuckle verbosity for relatively calm, plain-spoken tones. It is not a major reinvention, but a work of immense beauty that both transcends pre-existing narratives and suggests that, even as an adult, Oberst can still connect. D.B.

As 2014 approaches its midpoint, we’ve assembled your summer-listening list: throwback soul, Motor City post-punk, Norwegian nü-disco, a pair of California-lovin’ rap records, the latest sad-sack opus from an alt-rock icon, a country blockbuster, a Britpop elder’s solo debut, and so much more.

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